Ill- 4
lathe were only few steps away from Edison's own room. His comments the career plans of
Mr. Edison
was very proud his college trained experimenters who had
strong math and science skills. had first employed these men
during the electric lighting era, and many more were hired to
work the new laboratory West Orange Edison gradually
raised the skill level his laboratory work force. His status the laboratory organization can judged
from the famous picture the group workers around the
improved phonograph taken the summer 1888.
Edison's basic objection employing academics was that they
were not practical men and that was the business of
making practical innovations. Fred
Ott worked with W.
Many the new employees were college graduates.K. A
self taught chemist, Edison probably thought that college
education was overrated.C. Yee, chemical experimenter the lab 1920,
reveal this viewpoint: cannot understand why wants to
attend college find really fine chemist. Much has
been made Edison's anti-intellectualism and his disdain for
theorectical science, yet this did not prevent him from
employing the products universities and technical schools.L.
Many the formally trained employees West Orange had
. (See
Illustration 3-1, #6164) Ott sits Edison's right hand, and
immediately behind the inventor are Batchelor and John Ott. G. Dickson the development the motion
picture camera and has gained immortality the first face on
film
